Elite: Dangerous Refund Policy

The
Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #50 outlines a refund policy for backers of
Elite: Dangerous, following
firestorm
that resulted from the announcement in their
previous newsletter that there will be no offline mode in the upcoming space
combat game. The newsletter has a Q&A with David Braben about this, as he
explains that there will still be a single-player mode, that this doesn't make
Elite: Dangerous an MMOG, and that they have regrets over not revealing they were "struggling
with this aspect" sooner than they did. Since the community reaction includes
demands for refunds, he explains how these are handled:

Will you give
people refunds?
We have started responding to requests where there is a clear outcome:

Those who have pre-ordered an Elite: Dangerous
release version from our online store and have therefore not yet played the
game are eligible for a refund.

Those who have already been playing the game
online in the Alpha and/or Beta phases, regardless of whether they backed
the project via Kickstarter or purchased access to Alpha and/or Beta through
our online store, are not eligible for a refund.

We want to make sure we treat each person's situation with the thoroughness
it deserves, and have contacted each of them to ask that they bear with us over
the next few working days if their circumstances do not fit either criteria
above as we look into individual requests.